Russia-Ukraine War: Documents leaked from the American Pentagon and obtained by the “New York Times” revealed that if the air defense forces of Ukraine do not receive extensive assistance in the near future, they are expected to collapse, and it seems that the Russian Air Force will change the face of the war that began in February 2022. According to the report, in such a case , Russia may use the deadly fighter jets it possesses, which will probably change the situation for it.
Despite the huge advantage of the Russian Air Force over the Ukrainian, Moscow did not achieve significant achievements on the battlefield. According to estimates in the West, a combination of Ukrainian steadfastness and poor intelligence by the Russians left many of the Ukrainian fighter and defense aircraft stranded, preventing Moscow from taking control of Ukrainian skies, and forcing Russia to use only a small part of its air force. However, the new documents present a pessimistic picture of the situation for Kyiv and its allies. Because, from them it appears that Kiev may collapse under repeated barrages of Russian drones and missiles.
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Borodyanka, Ukraine (Photo: REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)
The US Department of Defense is now worried that Moscow’s barrage of attacks is emptying the Ukrainian weapons stockpiles, which Ukraine uses to defend itself. According to the documents, the S300 and BUK systems in Ukraine’s possession make up almost 90% of the total Ukrainian air defense, and the missile inventory is expected to be depleted by the beginning of May. Also, the US estimates that a large part of the Ukrainian air defense system, a significant part of which is concentrated on the front line, will be “completely reduced” by May 23.
If the fear does materialize, the Pentagon estimates that Russia will start using the most advanced aircraft in the war in Ukraine. In the meantime, senior American officials testified that such a move would be a great challenge for Ukraine, especially if the Russian fighter jets and bombers attack Ukrainian artillery positions. A military official in Washington noted that strengthening the system is essential to help Ukraine regain the territories occupied by Russia. Also, Pentagon officials stated that a key part of the aid to Ukraine is to make sure now that it can continue to maintain Russia’s advanced aircraft outside of the war.
Russian Air Force (Photo: Vertical)
Last January, British intelligence sources said that Russia moved its Tupolev strategic bombers thousands of kilometers east of Primorsky District, after the Ukrainian army’s attacks on the military airfields. This, after the reports that Ukraine attacked the Diaghilev and Engels bases, which are 640 km from the border.
A senior British Ministry of Defense official added that “Russia clearly has a problem with its air force because it has not used a large percentage of its capability on paper to fight the war in Ukraine. “They should have achieved air superiority at the start of the invasion of Ukraine and maintained it. The fact that they did not recognize that the air force has the same logistical problems as the land force has, was influenced by the corrupt supply chain and poor reliability in the army.”